Guilty verdict and guilty plea in pair of fatal accidents, arrests begin in Stephentown house party case, woman says her dog found rat poison near Washington Park

A Saratoga County jury found a Clifton Park woman guilty of second-degree manslaughter and driving while ability impaired for driving through stop sign in Charlton last year and crashing into another vehicle -- the driver of that vehicle later died from his injuries. Traci L. Briskin faces up to 15 years in prison. Her attorney said she had been looking for her GPS at the time of the crash. Saratoga County DA Jim Murphy in a statement: "You can't drive recklessly while you're impaired, take your eyes off the road, cross the center line and the fog line, run a stop sign, crash into a man and kill him and then say it's just a mistake, as the defendant claims." [Daily Gazette] [TU] [Saratogian] [Saratoga County DA]

Becky Goodermote, accused of hitting a fatally driving into a bicyclist on Route 22 in Rensselaer County last year, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. She said she was on a number of prescription drugs at the time. She faces up to seven years in prison. [CBS6] [TU] [YNN]

The Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office says six people have been arrested in connection with the unauthorized party at former NFL player Brian Holloway's house in Stephentown. The sheriff's office says it's identified more than 200 other people who were at the party -- and they're expecting to file charges against 100-200 people. [TU] [WNYT] [News10]

Passenger rail service in New York could be disrupted mid-October if Amtrak and the state Department of Transportation can't nail down an agreement on sharing costs by the beginning of the month. [TU]

Said Angela Weller, whose plan to open "an adult boutique" in Troy has raised some eyebrows, to the Record: "The whole point of the business was to open an adult store for women ... Others are directed towards men and can be kind of creepy. Here, there are no creepy guys in trench coats or peep shows." [Troy Record]

UAlbany School of Business Weekend MBA ad 2012 summer

The state Inspector General's office says 19 people have been arrested in connection with a case in which eight people are accused of cheating on the commercial driver's license test. [NYS IG] [TU]

The federal Department of Education has ruled that the Cambridge school district was slow to investigate a family's complaints of "disability-related harassment" -- including an incident in which a teacher was accused of taking a cane from a student with sight impairment. [TU]

A pay dispute involving the city of Albany and its civilian police employees is playing out in the shadow of the city's next budget, which could have a significant gap. [TU]

Colonie's proposed town budget increases spending by 1.54 percent -- for increased healthcare, pension, and salary costs. [TU]

Friends of Joe Bruno say the former state Senator had a cancerous tumor removed from one of his kidneys Thursday. Could Bruno's health play a role in the ongoing federal corruption case against him?. [Troy Record] [TU] [Daily Gazette]

Albany police say they've made an arrest in the shooting outside a lounge in the South End September 12 (map). [TU]

Albany police chief Steven Krokoff tells the TU he's concerned that the man accused of serially trespassing and/or exposing himself has now allegedly targeted children. [TU]

Troy police say an RPI student reported being assaulted by three teens Wednesday night near Beman Park. The men asked for the woman's mobile phone and when she refused, hit her with what was apparently the butt of a gun. A councilman is using the incident to call for more aggressive police tactics. [News10] [TU] [YNN]

The director of public safety for HVCC said on Twitter Thursday that a student had been arrested "for an implied bomb threat via Twitter." An investigation concluded there was no threat. [@HVPublicSafety] [Troy Record]

Scotia police say the dog that attacked an elderly man this past weekend has been seized. [Daily Gazette]

The state attorney general's office announced an agreement with National Grid in which the utility will pay almost $5 million for unpaid wages during the recovery from Hurricane Sandy. The pay problems started after the company switched to a new payroll system right after Sandy. [NYS OAG] [Daily Gazette]

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is looking into a report that someone placed rat poison near Washington Park in Albany, after a woman caught her dog eating pellets out of a tray at the base of a tree. [WNYT]

Price tag for turning was essentially a shell of a row house near Troy's Washington Park into upscale apartments: $600k. [Troy Record]

Comments

Councilman McGrath's worst fear come true is a lingerie shop opening? Maybe he hasn't read the news lately about the happenings in Troy. I'd be more concerned about poverty, shootings and gangs of bored teenagers roaming the streets than a woman trying to make a go at a fun, legal small biz. Expressions sounds like it will about as harmless as the back section of Spencer's in Crossgates.

"The state Department of Environmental Conservation is looking into a report that someone placed rat poison near Washington Park in Albany, after a woman caught her dog eating pellets out of a tray at the base of a tree. [WNYT]"

Other interesting parts from that story:

"The penalty for the misuse of a pesticide that results in known human or animal exposure could range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the specific circumstances of a case," Georgeson said.

It was unclear whether a resident was using the poison to kill mice, rats, squirrels, or other animals.
_____________________________________

I am a (responsible) dog owner and I live in that area. I've seen that tray filled with pellets and thought nothing of it. My dog stays at my side and his attention is on me. Not a day goes by that I don't see a fresh pile left by an elusive dog/owner. The intentional poisoning of any domesticated animal is abhorrent; however, I can't help but think of a resident who lives near that tree who has had enough. I hope I'm wrong.

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